Countdown - Iris Johansen [66]
“And what if he won’t finish it now?”
“Then I’ll get someone else.”
“And it might not have any clue about where the gold is.”
“That’s true. But at least it gives me time to work out something else to do.”
“You can’t take chances with a potential disaster like this. We have to notify the authorities.”
He picked up the phone and handed it to her. “The number is in my memory list. Carl Venable. Special agent. CIA. If you’re going to call him, you might tell him about Eduardo Donato. I haven’t gotten around to it yet.”
She stared down at the phone. “Venable. You’re working with the CIA?”
“As much as I can. There seems to be a break in the ranks. Sabot is Venable’s superior, and he disagrees that Grozak is a threat. He believes Grozak is a minor player, uninterested in targeting the U.S., and not capable of an operation of this scope.” He grimaced. “And either Grozak or Reilly has set up a cry-wolf scenario that’s keeping Sabot from believing an attack is coming.”
“Cry wolf?”
“Over the last year there have been leaks to the CIA, FBI, and Homeland Security several times warning of attacks at specific sites by Grozak. They raised the alert, sent out teams, and nothing happened. Except they came back mad as hell and with egg on their face. Sabot’s not willing to be made a fool of again. He thinks this is just another threat.”
“He cried wolf on himself. . . .”
“Right. And Reilly has been off their radar for years—there’s no proof he’s even alive.” He made a face. “Except my word about our conversation, and I’m not exactly a reputable character.”
“And Venable?”
“He’s a nervous man and doesn’t want to be called before a congressional committee to answer questions after an attack. He’d rather cover his bases. Sabot’s giving him limited authority to save his own ass if anything goes wrong. God, I hate bureaucracy.”
“And Reilly can’t be found?”
“Not yet. I’ve been sending Brenner back to the U.S. to try to pick up word about him. That word is that he may be in the Northwest. Brenner followed two false leads but he thinks he may be on to something now.”
“He has to be found.”
“I’m doing everything I can, Jane. We’ll find him. Third time lucky.”
“Luck?”
“Sorry. But I am what I am. I assure you that I’m not relying on chance this time.” He grimaced. “And, even though it goes against the grain to give up that gold, I’ll do it if I can locate that chest.”
“It’s a long shot.” She frowned. “And I can’t believe that Grozak would delay his move on the chance of getting Reilly’s support.”
“It’s either Reilly or an indefinite delay, and Grozak is chomping at the bit after all these years. He wants to be perceived as this mastermind who has the power to shake the world.”
“But the chance is so slim of that gold showing up.”
“Grozak doesn’t know that.” He reached in the desk drawer and drew out a velvet pouch. “He’s sure that he’s on the right track.” He tossed the pouch to her. “I sent this to Dupoi with the scrolls and asked him to get an estimate on the age and value.”
She slowly opened the pouch and poured the contents into her palm. Four gold coins. Her gaze flew to his face. “You found the chest?”
He shook his head. “No, but I was able to locate these ancient coins and buy them. I figured they’d be a good lure.”
She stared down in wonder at the face imprinted on the coins. “You’re sure these are from Cira’s time?”
“The face on the coins is Vespasianus Augustus, the emperor at the time of the eruption. Dupoi had them examined and the estimate was A.D.78. The volcano blew in A.D.79.” He added, “Dupoi authenticated them as coming from Herculaneum. He asked where I’d found them and if there were any more. I told him about the chest.”
“What?” Then it hit home. “A trap. You deliberately fed him the information. You knew Dupoi would betray you to Grozak.”
He shrugged. “There was a good chance. The word was out that Grozak was trying to find